Chapter 249: It Was All Me!

Ghost!!?

In this desolate wilderness, Shi Xue was already feeling uneasy, and the ghost-like cry that suddenly erupted behind her pushed the fear in her heart to its absolute limit.

Yet, despite the fear in her heart, she did not scream, nor did she lose her composure.

Instead, she took to her heels and ran without a moment's hesitation!

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

The movement technique she had honed for years reached its peak in this moment, making her almost like a flying arrow.

As she twisted and turned, she almost achieved the effect of flying just above the ground!

But even so, the unease in Shi Xue's heart did not diminish.

She could feel a cold, chilling aura constantly following behind her.

It was like a shadow following a form!

Lacking the courage to turn back and see what it was, Shi Xue could only bury her head and continue to sprint wildly.

"Master once said, if you encounter something unclean while walking on a night road and it tells you to turn back, you must never turn back!"

"Otherwise, everything you have will be taken away by it! It becomes you, and you become it, until you find the next poor soul."

"Hey! Are you listening to me? Why did you walk away? Where are you going?"

She did not even move an eyebrow, merely giving a flat, perfunctory response.

"... What a flat reaction."

"... Fine then."

Shi Xue remained silent, feeling as if her entire body were placed inside an ice cave that was cold enough to pierce the bones.

Speaking of this, Shi Xue's neck, which had turned halfway back, suddenly froze, and the eyes she wanted to open slammed shut.

It looked like everyone was happy, and the plan was flawless.

Yes, it was all fake.

Her own starting point was not bad.

Run, run, run!

As long as I don't turn back, I won't know what exactly is chasing me from behind.

"If you use me as bait again, I will definitely fall out with you."

I can agree to that.

After walking another two hundred steps, there was no sound at all in the surroundings.

"Is all of this your trick?"

As long as she had made a promise and set her mind to do something, she would definitely do it.

Looking back, apart from being a bit impulsive when they first met, her personality seemed to be like this in all their interactions afterward.

After finishing, Ren Yidao waved goodbye to Shi Xue, who had already begun to turn illusory:

However, she no longer had the strength to run and could only walk shakily.

Goosebumps rose all over her body; Shi Xue almost turned her head back, but she resisted the instinctive reaction at the very last second.

Heh.

Shi Xue:?

"Heart Star's wish?"

His voice turned serious, and he shouted:

"Don't turn back! Run! Keep running!"

Ren Yidao walked directly in a circle to stand in front of Shi Xue, beginning to move back and forth to follow her gaze.

Ren Yidao looked strangely at Shi Xue, who showed no sign of breaking free from the illusion, and asked in return:

Are you looking for trouble?

Ren Yidao blinked and scratched his head, saying:

As long as one has some understanding of the Divine Path Sect, one can understand how much weight this sentence carries for a cultivator of the Divine Path Sect.

Since you have thought clearly that it is your own problem, then admit it calmly.

As long as you don't turn back!

"You turn back~ and look at me~"

"..."

"Sorry, it's my fault; I was negligent."

It's Master's voice!

Ren Yidao let go of his hands and smiled as he looked at Shi Xue's dazed expression.

But before Shi Xue could begin to struggle, the embrace left on its own.

"I am Li Fengyao~"

You brat, are you?

Meeting Shi Xue's thoughtful gaze, Ren Yidao did not explain anything and gave a mysterious smile:

"As for that, it's just a little secret not meant for outsiders."

"I am the most evil villain of all!!!"

Feeling the warm chest opposite her, Shi Xue's brain crashed instantly, turning into a blank slate.

Her eyes slowly opened, and Shi Xue looked at the still-dark forest, lost in a daze.

!!!

"... To think that everything was fake."

"What is the meaning of this pose you've struck? Why won't you open your eyes and look at your master?"

"Hah!"

She wanted to look back, but remembering her master's instructions, Shi Xue pursed her lips and continued to charge forward.

Although he was just an old drunkard who only knew how to gamble and frequent brothels, at least he had some strength.

But for those who were her friends, she felt she should treat them specially.

Originally, there had been some lingering resentment in her heart, but at this moment, it had all vanished.

When she finally stopped, she noticed that her body had reached its limit; her throat was parched, and her whole body ached.

"Haa, haa..."

"Hah!"

Still sulking, Shi Xue did not expect to hear this, and she turned her head back with a strange expression.

It could keep Li Long from losing face, allow everyone to experience the joy of Role-playing, and incidentally, discipline the little friends of the Eastern Wasteland.

It never erupts head-on, but that is not weakness.

Yet, contrary to Ren Yidao's expectations, the reaction Shi Xue gave was very flat.

Damn it.

"Besides, wasn't it you who told me to run? I'm just following my master's orders! You told me to keep running and not to look back..."

"Ren Yidao."

"Uh, I didn't mean to blame you, I just..."

For the sake of the wish in her heart, she did not use the power of her family, but started from the very basics instead.

Ren Yidao shook his head, not intending to continue arguing about this topic, and instead asked:

"How did you wake up?"

She honestly offered her ear to him, prepared for him to suddenly roar at her.

Her master's voice was full of confusion as he teased:

Boom!

A huge roar came from behind, along with the unwilling roar of a monster.

"..."

And Ren Yidao was rubbing the earlobe that had just been pinched.

Whoosh...

Leaning over with her hands on her knees, Shi Xue panted heavily.

How many times now!

Last time you used me as a hostage to threaten Li Qiushui, and this time you're using me to threaten Li Qiushui again.

Each has their own loves, each has their own feelings.

She squinted at him for a while, and finally sighed helplessly:

"When I was just about to look back, but remembered that my 'master' was actually my uncle, everything came back to me."

After saying this with resentment, Shi Xue let out a cold snort, let go, and turned her head away, refusing to look at him anymore.

"It wasn't all fake, either."

"Oh, is that so."

"Fine, enough nonsense, come here first."

Friend, you are so calm that it makes me feel very unaccomplished!

Complaining with dissatisfaction about the disciple who ran faster than a rabbit in a moment of crisis:

"You Evil disciple, you really ran fast! You really didn't wait for the old man at all!"

Shi Xue just kept running like this, kept running.

Yes...

Her master sighed and said helplessly:

"Ah, if you are willing to cry, that's not impossible..."

Just like treating the others in the sect, it required a bit of favoritism.

"Damn it, cough cough! I'm exhausted."

At the tenth step, her master's voice carried anger.

A creepy voice rang out eerily in her ear, and it even blew a bone-chilling cold wind against her ear.

"Go away, stop hovering in front of my eyes, my heart is tired."

And clearly, Shi Xue, who had stayed in Chongzhou City for quite some time, understood.

"Ren Yidao..."

As if to vent all the emotions in her heart along with this breath.

Really uncooperative.

She remained silent, slowly turned her head back, and after standing dazed for a while, she took a step forward again.

Yes.

Ren Yidao tilted his head, looked at the calm-faced Shi Xue, and smiled:

With a cold laugh, Shi Xue waved her hand wearily and said exhaustedly:

But she seemed to have thought of all this too simply.

Gradually, Shi Xue felt the sound in her ears begin to grow faint, becoming further and further away...

The master is fake, the rising sun is fake, the fatigue is fake, even the distance walked is fake...

Speaking of this, Shi Xue suddenly recalled a point she had previously overlooked, and she looked at Ren Yidao suspiciously:

"Right... why did you impersonate Li Fengyao?"

With her master here, the panic in Shi Xue's heart diminished quite a bit.

"I'll say this first, a gentleman uses his words, not his hands."

Ever since she had finished her apprenticeship, she hadn't seen her master for several years; she hadn't expected to meet here at a time like this.

Unexpectedly, Shi Xue just sighed softly, then gently pinched Ren Yidao's earlobe.

She said:

Ren Yidao's brows furrowed slightly.

You old geezer, hurry up and save me, damn it!

At the one-hundredth step, the master's voice disappeared.

She didn't know how much more time had passed, but the cold, chilling aura behind her gradually vanished, and she finally could no longer hear the monster's calls or her master's angry shouts.

"What?"

She could not let down her master's painstaking efforts.

"Remember, absolutely do not look back!"

A soft voice rang out beside her; Shi Xue turned her head and saw the man who seemed to have been standing by her side all along.

Just as Shi Xue was silently recovering, a few stumbling footsteps sounded behind her, along with a familiar grumbling voice:

!!!

Suddenly, an anxious shout made Shi Xue's heart jolt!

"Disciple! How did you run into this kind of thing!?"

"Uh, it's not that I want to do anything... rather, it's what do *you* want to do?"

Regarding the same event, not everyone will feel the same emotions.

There was no master's angry reprimand, nor the sound of wind, only her own heartbeat remained.

"You child, what on earth is wrong with you?"

Thinking that they would surely be able to understand his good intentions, thinking that they would feel the same joy as he did.

Shi Xue did not see the expression on Ren Yidao's face when he apologized, because her vision went black, and then she felt herself being gently pulled into an embrace.

!!!

"What do you mean by this? Why did you stop halfway through your sentence?"

"Haha, isn't this because I believe in your strength, old one!"

No, it was more than that; even the foundation of all this was fake.

It didn't hurt.

Those people from the Eastern Wasteland, or even the others in Beigan, Ren Yidao didn't care how they felt.

In the end, Shi Xue simply closed her eyes and continued to run at full speed, relying on her senses.

The sounds in her ears were constant, but they could never make Shi Xue change anything.

"You..."

Only when Yu Yu mentioned it did he have some realization, but he hadn't taken it completely to heart.

If...

Shi Xue gave a reaction at this moment; she rolled her eyes and said speechlessly:

"Otherwise, what else do you want me to do? Do you want to see me cry?"

No roaring, no throwing a tantrum, just calmly giving the final ultimatum.

She stood in place, as if she had just woken up from a long dream.

Even when she was at her angriest, Shi Xue never resorted to violence to express her dissatisfaction.

Line of sight tracking! Pupil capture!

"... Tsk!"

I, he, this this this this, ah?

"Master!!? I've been entangled by this thing, hurry and save me!"

"Well, if you put it that way... it seems you wouldn't believe it now either."

Empathy is very difficult.

After hesitating for a moment, Ren Yidao still moved to Shi Xue's side.

Li Qiushui's reaction was a bit extreme, but at least she gave a reaction.

If one were to say...

No shock, no anger.

"I promise you in the name of the Dao God, that kind of thing will not happen a second time."

He had overlooked one thing: people's capacity to endure is different.

This was actually not surprising; Ren Yidao had always been indifferent to others who had nothing to do with him.

Having recovered quite a bit of strength, Shi Xue was in the mood to talk back, and she said with a giggle:

"Master..."

"Eh? What's wrong with you?"

She did what she said she would do.

Looking at Shi Xue vigilantly, Ren Yidao warned:

And when Shi Xue brought it up again, Ren Yidao finally noticed the part he had missed.

"Forget it, who else but me is your master? You go, I will help you hold it off!"

At the three-hundredth step, Shi Xue stopped her pace and let out a long breath.

"What if I don't manage to beat it? Can't you think about collecting your master's corpse?"

At the thirtieth step, Master said that if I didn't turn back, he would sever our master-disciple relationship.

"A tool to threaten her?"

Shi Xue bit her silver teeth lightly and whispered hatefully:

"Tsk, I'm not sure about this thing either... aren't you just tormenting an old person?"

"Do you have any unfulfilled wishes left? I will definitely fulfill them for you!"

"What do you take me for?"

Annoyed by the bothersome person before her, Shi Xue clicked her tongue explicitly and had no choice but to speak:

"What else do you want to do?"

She was unwilling to participate in the struggle for the throne, choosing to leave Wentian alone and come to a remote small city.

Her speed also gradually slowed down, and finally, she stopped her pace.

No, I don't want to become like that!

Although she kept her eyes closed, she could easily bypass the obstacles in front of her and run wildly through the forest.

Thus, Ren Yidao nodded and calmly admitted:

"Yes, I did all of it."

The old man's nagging complaints kept ringing in her ears; the voice she previously found noisy now sounded surprisingly reassuring.

If he thought this through, could Ren Yidao understand that what he did this time seemed truly a bit excessive?

He had dragged them into it without saying anything, treating them as chess pieces on a chessboard.

He was in high spirits, like a flamboyant villain appearing on stage who lifts his mask to reveal a familiar face.

She did not sit on the ground; in her current state, if she were to lie down, she would truly never be able to get back up again.

She had not completely lost her strength, relying on this last bit of unyielding will.

He had only been concerned with his own amusement, seemingly completely ignoring their own feelings.

"Bring your ear closer."

After an unknown amount of time passed, the sun seemed to have risen, and the warm sunlight spilled onto Shi Xue's body, allowing her to gradually relax.

"Disciple, why won't you turn back to look at your master?"

"Come here."

Furthermore, he even impersonated Li Qiushui's fiancé...

"..."

In her ears was her master's puzzled shouting, but Shi Xue continued to walk.

For now, it seemed that only he and Li Long had experienced any joy, while everyone else was living in deep misery.

Shi Xue: "..."

Are you not bored at all!

"I'm not finished with you!"

After looking at Ren Yidao strangely for a moment, Shi Xue beckoned to him.

He waited for the audience's shocked reaction to satisfy his own pleasure.

"At least say something!"

In her ears, there was only the sound of the wind blowing and the vibration of her own heartbeat.

Shi Xue still wanted to explain, but upon seeing Ren Yidao's eyes, she understood that he did not want to talk anymore.

"See you in a bit."

"I still have one last thing to handle..."

Thinking of the contingency plan he had left behind, Ren Yidao smiled and said:

"It will be over very soon."